Inside The Vikings

Vikings Legend Jared Allen is a Hall of Fame Finalist Again

Will this be the year Allen gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Legend Jared Allen is a Hall of Fame Finalist Again
Vikings Legend Jared Allen is a Hall of Fame Finalist Again

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Minnesota Vikings

For the fourth consecutive year, Vikings legend Jaren Allen is one of 15 finalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps this will be the year he finally gets in?

These are the modern-era finalists for the HOF Class of 2024:

As always, it's a stacked group. Antonio Gates and Julius Peppers could make it in on their first ballot, while guys like Dwight Freeney, Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, and Darren Woodson also have strong cases (as do others).

Allen's case is as strong as anyone else's. The four-time first team All-Pro is tied for 16th in NFL history with 136 sacks, and everyone else in front of him is already in the Hall — with the exception of Peppers and Terrell Suggs (eligible next year).

In 2011, Allen set the Vikings' single-season record with 22 sacks, a mark that only six other players have ever matched or topped. Suggs narrowly beat out Allen for Defensive Player of the Year that season.

In addition to the lofty sack totals, Allen racked up 32 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, 55 passes defended, and 6 interceptions in his career. He almost never missed time due to injury during his career, playing 187 total games. Allen spent his first four years with the Chiefs, played six with the Vikings after being acquired via trade, and then had brief stints with the Bears and Panthers before retiring as a Viking in 2016.

If he does eventually get in, he'd become the 23rd former Viking in the Hall of Fame and the first inducted since Steve Hutchinson in 2020. In October 2022, Allen was inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor as its 27th member.

The inductees will be announced during NFL Honors on February 8th.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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